The nightclub incident

On the 27th December 1999 in the Club New York; Sean Combs, Jennifer Lopez, Shyne and their entourage were chillin’ in another night out when disaster struck. Their was an incident where Matthew ‘Scar’ Allen was shouting abuse at Puff Daddy apparently hating because of the amount of money he had. The confrontation got heated more and guns were drawn and some witnesses claimed they saw both Sean Combs and Jamal Barrow firing.

The night ended with Puff Daddy and his girlfriend Jennifer Lopez fleeing the scene in their lincoln navigator and and were chased down by the police before they eventually stopped and Puff Daddy was arrested. Shyne was arrested at the scene in the night club.

The court case

The Court case which took place in 2001 was a long affair with unendless rumors of bribery, corruption and general confusion of what happened amongst it. Witnesses claimed that Puff Daddy had a gun in his possession and even fired but these were strongly denied and eventually thrown out. Sean had the following to say about it in court on the 1st March 2001:

“I couldn’t tell what he was saying, but it wasn’t nice, by his body language … it wasn’t good, It was coming in a real aggressive way. It was very aggressive.”

Puffy claims he didn’t see who fired the shots, but when he heard them, “I just thought I was being shot at.” and dropped to the floor. Bodyguard Anthony “Wolf” Jones testifies hurling himself on top of Combs.

Prosecutor Matthew Bogdanos accused Puff Daddy of using ‘money, power and influence’ to bribe defense witnesses to testify his innocence and also ridiculed Shyne by saying there was no need for him to draw his gun in fear of his life because there was no threat. On the eve of the sentencing Shyne’s lawyer predicted doom as the sentences were announced on the 16th March. Puff Daddy, 15 pounds lighter since the beginning of the trial, rocked with emotion and relief and eventually broke into a smile as he and his bodyguard Antony ‘Wolf’ Jones escaped all sentencing being found not guilty in all circumstances however shyne was not so fortunate.

Shyne’s sentencing

Puff Daddy escaped all sentencing from the court however Jamal Barrow aka Shyne wasn’t so lucky as he recieved a long sentence for his part in the incident. After admitting to pulling out a gun and firing at Club New York the rapper was found guilty of first-degree assault and reckless endangerment avoiding the sentence of attempted murder but with a maximum sentencing of 25 years. In the end his sentence was reduced to 10 years as his shooting wounded two people yet he showed signs of being remorseful and so it was shortened. In a moving occasion Shyne stood before the court and said the Lord’s prayer and apoligised to the victims before being sentenced. Sean Combs had the following to say:

‘Shyne’s sentence is unfair and extreme as I know he had no intention of hurting anyone, My prayers are with him and his family. I’m shocked by today’s outcome. I will continue to support Shyne throughout his appeal.’

Shyne has no spent at three years in prison so far and is still appealing.

Puffy’s relationship with J-Lo

The long-standing relationship of Jennifer Lopez and Puff Daddy was put under much strain during this strenous time and despite neither being charged in the case the couple split. After a 17 month romance the relationship was confirmed over on valentines day (14th February) by Puffy. Combs decided on a break after the court case to revaluate his life, stating: ‘I’ve got to take a break, I’m going to take a leave of absence just to be Sean Combs, have time to think about what’s the next level I can play on.”

The name change

Out of relief from the outcome of the whole court case, Puff Daddy wanted a fresh start to overcome all he had been through. It was time to celebrate and he decided to mark this with a change of name; Combs announced: ‘No more Puff Daddy – the first week in June, we’re going to have a name-change ceremony, I’m not doing it as serious as Prince. I just want something fresh. I’m rocking with P Diddy just now – my man Biggie gave me that name’.